Great Sand Dunes (b&w)

Hiked up the dunes this afternoon to get pelted with sand and 50 MPH winds. It was brutal.

Which shot do you prefer?

Second one for me, I like the flow of the lines and better tonal range. Great job with the monochrome conversion!

like them both a lot, very nicely done

I like them both, but probably prefer the second one slightly over the first. I like the way the light is catching the blowing sand. It really shows how windy it was out there for you.

Nice work. They are both great shots. It looks like your perseverance with the weather paid off.

My eyes favor #2. Both great shots, but the blowing sand seems to enhance #2's composition.

Thanks, Pete. You ever make it down there?

I prefer #2 because the composition in #1 leads to the upper right horizon, but there isn't anything up there to see. #2 keeps you in the picture, and leads around to investigate all the details.

El Duderino wrote in post #15777345
Thanks, Pete. You ever make it down there?

Oh yeah...February of 2012, I was there for a few hours (my shooting buddy ended up having to call the day, due to a family emergency and he drove us down to GSDNP). Definitely need to get back down there.

Here's one from my trip (titled "Solitude"):

I love them both, however if I had to choose only one then I'd say #1 -- mountains in the background offer a little more depth.

AWESOME place to visit, I went last summer and would love to go back again. It was hot as hell at that time then but the benefit was little to no wind. The GSD lodge owners down the road, and also the folks at the Oasis cafe next door, were very nice people.

Here's a view from the back of the lodge using my 70-200 @ 121mm.

Those are both wall hangers. I prefer the 2nd one slightly more. I always like when there's a line that pulls you to the center of the image from a corner. Great shots!

One of my favorite places I have had the opportunity to visit. Sand was blowing so bad on the day I was there, Canon had my camera for 6 weeks because of the damage...well worth it!!!

I really like them both, I think you still need to level them though something looks off, i'm judging by the mountains in the far back ground.

I also like both images alot.

I like the first image more though. The contrast between the dunes and the shadows is well done. The ripples in the foreground sand of the first image grabs ones attention and then we are drawn into the image with the clouds in the background being our final destination. The sharp edge drawn by the shadows is wonderful. And once we reach the clouds in the distant background, we have a small peek into the distance mountain range with a splash of light, holding our attention.

mind sharing your conversion method? I've been looking in to other options and methods for my own.